President Barack Obama will be arriving in Lawrence, Kan. on Wednesday night and deliver a speech at the University of Kansas on Thursday.

Obama is scheduled to deliver the speech after 11 a.m. Thursday at the University of Kansas' Anschutz Sports Pavilion on Irving Hill Road.

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University of Kansas Vice Chancellor of Public Affairs Tim Caboni said the school didn't get much of the visit.

"We like to say we live in a world of yes, and we figure out how to say yes," he said.

A lot of work is already underway. The Secret Service and a White House advance team are already preparing the pavilion and making last-minute arrangements.

"You can imagine, construction, and curtains and signs and everything that goes into putting a performance together is happening right now," Caboni said. "I just got off the phone with the dean of the School of Music about our band and what it is they might be playing."

He said the first visit from a sitting president in more than a century is a big deal for the school.

"This is one in a number of events that I think has turned a national spotlight on the work that we're doing," Caboni said.

Obama had planned a visit several years ago that wound up being canceled. University leaders said they dusted off the plans from the previous visit and started back to work.

Many are focusing on what the president plans to say during the visit.

"I think he'll talk about higher education," said political science professor Burdett Loomis. "But I think he'll talk about higher education in the context of a struggling middle class."

Just last week, KU's chancellor wrote an article in Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper, that said research funding isn't keeping up with inflation at places like the KU Cancer Center.

"If you think about the ways in which the federal government has or has not invested in research funding, we're in the middle of what could be called an innovation deficit," Caboni said.

Loomis said he thinks Obama will deliver a memorable speech.

"There will be a handful of students who will take something away from that speech that will change their lives," he said.

"I think it says that KU is a diverse and thriving college that the president wants to come here and that he wants to talk to us students," said freshman Jessica Thompson.

The President's speech in Lawrence is expected to cover some of the points he will deliver during the State of the Union speech on Tuesday. Loomis said it may be worth watching to see whether Gov. Sam Brownback will attend and whether the president takes any jabs at the lagging Kansas economy.

This is the President's first visit to the area since his visit last summer when he stayed overnight in Kansas City, Mo., and spoke at the Uptown Theater.

Ticket Information

Those interested in attending the speech have two options:

-KU students, faculty and staff can get one ticket starting at 9 a.m. on Tuesday. Go to the SUA Box Office, Kansas Union (level 4) at 1301 Jayhawk Blvd. Anyone wanting to get a ticket at this location must have a valid K.U. ID.

-The general public can get a ticket at the Douglas County Fairgrounds Dreher 4H building starting at 5 p.m. Tuesday. It is located at 2110 Harper St. in Lawrence.